Dipper's POV

I was in the Great Hall. It had been decorated with hundreds and hundreds of candle-filled pumpkins, a cloud of fluttering live bats, and many flaming orange streamers, which were swimming lazily across the stormy ceiling like beutiful shiny snakes.

The feast was great and it ended with an entertainment provided by the Hogwarts ghosts. They popped out of the walls and tables to do a bit of formation gliding; Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost, had a great success with a reenactment of his own botched beheading.

After the feast, when I was walking to the Slytherin, I was rushed into the Great Hall by the teachers. When we arrived, I saw that the Gryffindors were already there & the Ravenclaws & Hufflepuffs were coming in. Still had no idea what was going on & why Ravenclaw's symbol is a golden eagle & not a raven. Like seriously, the word raven is in the name!

 "The teachers and I need to conduct a thorough search of the castle." Professor Dumbledore told us as Professors McGonagall and Flitwick closed all doors into the hall. "I'm afraid that, for your own safety, you will have to spend the night here. I want the prefects to stand guard over the entrances to the hall and I am leaving the Head Boy and Girl in charge. Any disturbance should be reported to me immediately." He added to one of Ron's older brothers, who was looking immensely proud and important. "Send word with one of the ghosts."

Professor Dumbledore paused, about to leave the hall, and said: "Oh, yes, you'll be needing..."

One casual wave of his wand and the long tables flew to the edges of the hall and stood themselves against the walls; another wave, and the floor was covered with hundreds of squashy purple sleeping bags.

"Sleep well." Professor Dumbledore said, closing the door behind him.

The hall immediately began to buzz excitedly; the Gryffindors were telling the rest of the school what had just happened. So apparently, Sirius Black came in the castle & assaulted a painting... Oh my god, that sounded so wrong...

"Everyone into their sleeping bags!" Ron's brother shouted. "Come on, now, no more talking! Lights out in ten minutes!"  

I saw the trio seizing three sleeping bags and dragged them into a corner. I raided one & followed them.

 "Do you think Black's still in the castle?" Hermione whispered anxiously.

"Not really likely." I said. "If I were him, I would be hiding somewhere outside the castle & difficult to get in. Maybe an old shack behind the Whomping Willow"

"Well, Dumbledore obviously thinks he might still be in the castle" Ron said.

"It's very lucky he picked tonight, you know." Hermione said as we climbed fully dressed into our sleeping bags and propped ourselves on our elbows to talk. "The one night we weren't in the tower..."

"I reckon he's lost track of time, being on the run." Ron said. "Didn't realize it was Halloween. Otherwise he'd have come bursting in here."

Hermione shuddered.

"Maybe he wasn't after Harry at the moment." I theorized. "Maybe he was after someone or something in the Gryffindor tower. He can't just burst in when there's a lot of people because that is too risky... But that's just a theory..."

A Film Theory! Thanks for watching.

We kept silence... All around us, people were asking one another the same question: "How did he get in?"

"Maybe he knows how to Apparate." A Ravenclaw said a few feet away, "Just appear out of thin air, you know."

"Disguised himself, probably." A fifth-year Hufflepuff said.

"He could've flown in." A Gryffindor suggested.

"Honestly, am I the only person who's ever bothered to read Hogwarts, A History?" Hermione said crossly to us.

"Probably," said Ron. "Why?"

"Because the castle's protected by more than walls." I said. "There are all sorts of enchantments on it, to stop people entering by stealth. You can't just Apparate in here. And I'd like to see the disguise that could fool those Dementors. They're guarding every single entrance to the grounds. They'd have seen him fly in too."

"And Filch knows all the secret passages, they'll have them covered..." Hermione added.

Wouldn't be so sure about that, Hermit Crab...

"The lights are going out now!" Ron's Head Boy brother shouted. "I want everyone in their sleeping bags and no more talking!"  

The candles all went out at once. The only light now came from the silvery ghosts, who were drifting about talking seriously to the prefects, and the enchanted ceiling, which, like the sky outside, was scattered with stars. What with that, and the whispering that still filled the hall, I felt as though we were sleeping outdoors in a light wind.

Once every hour, a teacher would reappear in the Hall to check that everything was quiet. Around three in the morning, when many students had finally fallen asleep, Professor Dumbledore came in. We watched him looking around for Ron's brother, who had been prowling between the sleeping bags, telling people off for talking. He was only a short way away from us so we quickly pretended to be asleep as Dumbledore's footsteps drew nearer.

"Any sign of him, Professor?" Ron's brother asked in a whisper. I need his name. I can't keep calling him Ron's brother... Let's see... So Percy, huh?

"No. All well here?"

"Everything under control, sir."

"Good. There's no point moving them all now. I've found a temporary guardian for the Gryffindor portrait hole. You'll be able to move them back in tomorrow."

"And the Fat Lady, sir?"

"Hiding in a map of Argyllshire on the second floor. Apparently she refused to let Black in without the password, so he attacked. She's still very distressed, but once she's calmed down, I'll have Mr Filch restore her."

We heard the door of the hall creak open again, and more footsteps.

"Headmaster?" It was Snape. We kept quiet still listening hard. "The whole of the third floor has been searched. He's not there. And Filch has done the dungeons; nothing there either."

"What about the Astronomy tower? Professor Trelawney's room? The Owlery?"

"All searched..."

"Very well, Severus. I didn't really expect Black to linger."

"Have you any theory as to how he got in, Professor?" Professor Snape asked.

"Many, Severus, each of them as unlikely as the next."

I opened his eyes a fraction and squinted up to where they stood; Dumbledore's back was to him, but I could see Percy's face, rapt with attention, and Snape's profile, which looked angry.

"You remember the conversation we had, Headmaster, just before the start of term?" Snape said, who was barely opening his lips, as though trying to block Percy out of the conversation.

"I do, Severus." Dumbledore said, and there was something like warning in his voice.

"It seems... Almost impossible... That Black could have entered the school without inside help. I did express my concerns when you appointed..."

"I do not believe a single person inside this castle would have helped Black enter it" Dumbledore said, and his tone made it so clear that the subject was closed that Snape didn't reply. "I must go down to the Dementors." Dumbledore continued. "I said I would inform them when our search was complete."

"Didn't they want to help, sir?" Percy asked.

"Oh yes." Dumbledore said coldly. "But I'm afraid no Dementor will cross the threshold of this castle while I am Headmaster."

Oh Hallelujah! In yo face (if you even have one), you stupid Dementors! You ain't getting a piece of dis booty!

Anyway, Percy looked slightly abashed. Dumbledore left the hall, walking quickly and quietly. Snape stood for a moment, watching the headmaster with an expression of deep resentment on his face; then he too left.

Harry glanced sideways at Ron, Hermione and I. The trio had their eyes open too, reflecting the starry ceiling.

"What was all that about?" Ron mouthed.

"The little wolf might have known & might have help the little runaway puppy..." I responded with a cryptic tone.

"What?" The trio asked quietly in unison.

"That is for me to know & possibly use to blackmail and for you to find out..." I responded before turning & going to sleep.

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And this concludes this chapter.

Because of the circumstances I mentioned in earlier A/Ns, I won't be updating this for at most a year...

Until then, this is Chess_Cat, signing out. Goodbye.